Jay-Z came to the defense of Bad Bunny on Monday after a section of people, including President Donald Trump, expressed displeasure with the Puerto Rican musician being selected to headline next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, performs in Spanish and has a global fanbase. The 31-year-old is also a vocal Trump critic, so it comes as no surprise that the president and other Conservatives are condemning his selection.
Jay-Z briefly touched on the MIA singer being selected to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show after a TMZ photographer asked him why people were hating on the artist.
“They love him. Don’t let them fool you,” Jay-Z responded. In 2019, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint inked a deal with the NFL to produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show, so the billionaire rapper and businessman has a key say when it comes to artist selection every year.
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Jay-Z’s comment on the Bad Bunny backlash also came after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized that they were not going to replace the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist.
“It’s carefully thought through,” Goodell said during an October 22 news conference, The Associated Press reported. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” Goodell added. “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
Goodell also stated that Bad Bunny was selected because of his popularity. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value.”
The Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8. It, however, cannot be established if Trump will be in attendance.
During a previous interview on Newsmax, Trump claimed that he did not know who Bud Bunny was. “I don’t know who he is,” Trump said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
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